Music is powerful.

A balm for the soul. Inspiration for the mind and imagination. In a world where difference is used to divide, live orchestral performance provides a unique opportunity to overcome barriers – economic, age, language – and unite over a common experience.

You find your seat. You look around at the hall filled with unfamiliar faces, surprised a little by the diversity of the audience. The snippets of conversations in different languages you hear start to quiet as the lights go down. The orchestra tunes. The journey begins. Your emotions and thoughts dance with the swells and pauses of the piece. After the applause you glance around and feel a sense of connection with those around you. You’ve been transported together – touched, changed, united.

For close to 75 years, the KWS has been changing lives by harnessing the power of music and sharing it with others in ways unique to this Region. The impact of experiencing a KWS live performance is profound.

When I conduct, I never know exactly how I will be moved, or what I will feel afterwards, but I know I will share a sense of connection with the audience members who have enjoyed a reprieve from their hectic daily lives. Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony performances touch my soul.

I am so proud to be part of this exceptional organization which aims to set the standard for Canadian Orchestras. But I know this work can’t be done by a conductor and musicians alone.

I need your help to use the music of the KWS to move more people’s souls, the way we did these:

"My dad died first. It was sudden. Mom died less than 8 weeks later. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with deep, intense sadness that made me wonder how I was going to take my next breath. I went to the concert and was completely absorbed by the experience. At the end of the evening I realized that I had not thought of the deaths of my parents once. I came home feeling different - less tired and joyful. Since that evening my grief feels so much more manageable. The intense exhaustion has left."

Jody, audience member, The Great Human Odyssey, May 4, 2018

Through our concert series, education programs, and outreach initiatives, throughout the last decade the KWS has challenged audiences’ understanding of what music is, what it can do, and how it can make a difference.

Please help me keep that crescendo building – offering audiences new ways to connect and integrate music into our lives – by making a gift todayonline, in person at an upcoming concert or by filling in and returning the enclosed pledge form.

I look forward to working with you to help over 100,000 people every year, shift from stressed to calm, devastated to hopeful, uninspired to full of ideas by the KWS. Together, we will find new ways to transcend barriers and have halls full of strangers leave performances feeling a sense of community.

"Christopher, accompanied by his personal support worker, attended a free outreach concert for an invited audience of clients of local social service agencies. He was chosen from the audience to conduct a portion of the concert. He was thrilled. His support worker told us this experience turned his day and her day around and they would float home. "

Outreach performance at CCPA, April 2018

Together we will expand where music can be used and who is moved by it.

With sincere appreciation,

Andrei Feher

Music Director

P.S. To receive a 2018 tax receipt, make your donation before December 31, 2018.